My dog bit another and drew blood

poiuytrewq

poiuytrewq

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I had to deal with my first proper dog fight alone this morning :( Fully admit I was a little shaky straight after.

My younger lab doesn’t like other dogs. It’s been a thing since day one. As a tiny puppy he tried to attack another dog once.

We went to a very highly recommended training place near us regularly for ages and he got to be fine with the dogs there but it didn’t translate to meeting a dog out walking.
He went to a trainer for a few weeks and then I had lessons, again fine if a dog walks past him loads of times he just ignores it.
99.9% of the time out walking he’s fine. He is always on a lead and I just walk past other dogs with no opportunity to say hello or otherwise. Or somewhere narrow I’ll get out the way and he will sit calmly while the other dog/people pass. So although not ideal we cope with and accept it.

He has off lead time in the fields and round the farm where he isn’t going to come across a random dog, until this morning.
I was poo picking and could hear people shouting to my right, there’s a footpath the far side of the next field so assumed walkers along there. Suddenly a dog appeared over the wall to the left of us off the road. I called Bert to me and put his lead on but the dog was alone and came over.
They started fighting, mine was definitely the instigator. I had Bertie obviously and grabbed the other dogs collar to try and pull them apart but of course couldn’t. So I just yelled as hard as I could at Bertie to leave and he did but I was not fast enough.
So then I had B on the floor scared in one hand and the other dog by his collar in the other when the owner finally appeared.
The dog had escaped from his garden and run away.
The other dog, who I know from the village was bleeding. I couldn’t see the wound, he’s quite a hairy Italian Spinone but the blood was all down one leg. I’m hoping it looked worse than it was as he was wet and white legged.

Do I offer to pay vet bills? If it were my dog I think I’d want antibiotics to prevent infection being a dog bite. However it was on private land and ultimately, although I was unable to prevent the damage my dog was under control.
The owners a nice guy but I’m not sure where I stand/if I need to go apologise and offer to pay. ( if they took him to the vet, I’m not sure)
I’m also quite gutted this happened. I didn’t think he’d actually fight and bite. He’s never had the opportunity before and previously if a loose dog has come up to us I can tell it to back off or they soon realise he’s not friendly and back off anyway.
 
Both of my dogs react badly if other unknown dogs come on to our land, although they are not dog reactive if they are out and about away from home., luckily it very rarely happens. One is a labrador and the other a pretend labrador (possibly lab/spaniel) so both breeds not known for being overly reactive.

I think your dog was magnificent to allow you to split them up, I know neither of mine would at that stage. You absolutely do NOT have to feel obliged to offer any payment or apology, but I guess a sort of healf hearted 'sorry your dog got bitten but ours was naturally alarmed to find a strange dog suddenly appear on OUR property. That should do the trick.
 
Mrs. Jingle said:
What! On their own land? Seems very unreasonable to me, not a chance I would muzzle either of mine on our property. Completely out of the question.
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To give myself peace of mind I would. The dog was brilliant in its recall and dropping it, no denying that. But if it was my dog and I was letting it out around outside, yes I would.
 
Chonkers said:
To give myself peace of mind I would. The dog was brilliant in its recall and dropping it, no denying that. But if it was my dog and I was letting it out around outside, yes I would.
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Fair enough that is everyones personal choice for their dogs. But I would be very unhappy to spoil my dogs enjoyment of the open spaces we have out on our own land with me having to muzzle all the time. We have no foothpaths or roadways bordering our land, so if anyone appears with another dog they are trespassing. If the dog appears by itself it is out of control and should not be here. Obviously I would not like to see another dog injured but my own dogs must have some sort of freedom when they are with one of us on our own property.

Out and about obviously neither would be allowed off lead or anywhere near another dog anyway, but I would not consider it necessary to muzzle them then either.
 
Chonkers said:
To give myself peace of mind I would. The dog was brilliant in its recall and dropping it, no denying that. But if it was my dog and I was letting it out around outside, yes I would.
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Ludicrous! I mean honestly. In case someone can’t control their dog when your dog is quietly with you on private land you’d muzzle him? Please don’t even consider this, OP.
 
I was very pleased he came straight back and allowed me to slip his lead over his head whilst another dog approached. This is the first time his recall has been tested in that way and he couldn’t have responded better.
I don’t think I did panic until the proper dog ball attack was started. I *hoped that it might have been ok as he knows the other dog by sight and has never so much as growled at him before.

I was also pleased that he stopped when I did shriek at him to leave. I didn’t really expect that.

I did say to the owner that my dog didn’t like others very much and that his had charged over to him, I think the other dog was scared. He is only young and has never run loose round roads before so maybe saw us and thought we may be a safe space ( how wrong!)

I’m not going to muzzle him. He’s always on a lead in public and I think he needs some degree of freedoms he is only young and full of energy. So that really would be a last resort.
Being nervous about things I think that may freak him out more also.

My dog being worse again is a worry. He’s a million times better now than this time last year and it’s taken a lot of time so that will be seriously annoying.

I just felt a bit sick about it all .
 
OK...... so YOUR dog was on YOUR property, correct so far?

There IS a footpath - and this is through your property? (I wasn't sure about this?) - but it was several fields away, correct again?

The most important statement you make is that your dog was on a LEAD. End of.

Yes your dog might have been "the instigator"; but this other dog came out of nowhere according to you, and went for your dog, yes?? In which case I do not think anyone can apportion blame to your dog in any way whatsoever.

If the owner of the other dog had no recall then they should never have let it off the lead, end of. There may well have been stock in the fields such as sheep. Very irresponsible indeed.

You have no reason to feel bad - and I just hope your dog is OK.

The owner of the other dog may well have a fair'ish vets bill; this is their problem and not yours; and please do not under any circumstances allow yourself to be pressured into paying anything to the owner. You also should exercise care in what you actually say - as irresponsible people like this tend to look to others to blame when they themselves were actually the guilty party. Therefore you should not make any comment whatsoever; even if the owner approaches you directly, do not make any sort of statement. Point out to them that YOUR dog was on the lead, end of, and that their dog came for yours. But nothing more than this.

Let the owners of the dog pay up and look sweet for the vet's bill they will undoubtedly have. It might just sharpen their minds a little.
 
Clodagh said:
Ludicrous! I mean honestly. In case someone can’t control their dog when your dog is quietly with you on private land you’d muzzle him? Please don’t even consider this, OP.
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If it were my situation, yes. Our land runs along a road that is popular with walkers as it is a route to forest trails, lots of dogs not on leads.

I’m not suggesting the OP make the same choice I would. OP has clearly done excellent by their dog and the incident is in no way their fault!
 
Chonkers said:
I’m sorry this happened to you, it’s certainly a tricky one! But you did have your dog by the collar and it was their dog that came over to you. Their dog was not under control at the time. If it was me, I wouldn’t give an apology but I would muzzle the dog from here on out.
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I don't think it's at all tricky and I certainly wouldn't be muzzling my dog at home. Your dog was under control on your private land. The other dog was loose, not responding to commands and mist definitely not under control. If I were the other dog's owner, I would want antibiotics but I would expect to pay my own vet bill. I might bring you some wine/chocs to apologise for allowing my dog to stray onto your property. (Actually, I would probably faint with shock if someone did that). Remember if loose dogs get into your stock, they are liable to be shot, never mind bitten.
 
I'm sorry you and your dog got in that situation, really doesn't sound like you did anything wrong.

If my dog was the one getting loose and running up to a strange dog, I'd be very happy it wasn't worse than that. Same if a dog ran up to ours when she's out in a leash in the garden (which she only is when we're around, but still). Any sane dog would stay on a safe distance from her, but who knows how well the socially incompetent ones would understand that. We've had loose dogs run up to us on walks, in areas where they're not allowed to be loose. It has been enough to shout at them (and hold my dog's collar very well), but I certainly would kick another dog if necessary to keep them away from mine. I'd recommend anyone to do the same. That's most likely going to be milder for everyone involved. Likely, if the dog was 'just being friendly', that'd be enough to scare it off from the shock of getting pain, without any injuries beside maybe a bruise.
 
definitely not you in the wrong, and i think you handled it very well. i think “i hope yours is okay” would suffice if you bump into them - obviously their dog should never have been allowed to get loose or onto your property, but i think i’d still feel sympathetic myself as they’ve not blatantly stood back and let it come over.
 
First, well done on Bert's recall, that's pretty impressive!
Second, don't pay for any vet bills. You and Bert were on your property, he was on a lead and the other dog came to you.
Try and cut yourself and Bert some slack. You reacted as best you could given the situation. Stopping a dog fight on your own is hard! The dog fight I had to stop was my existing dogs and T my new terrier, with T's owner shrieking hysterically "they're killing him!" next to me rather than doing anything useful. (All dogs are still alive and slowly learning to get on).
Bert acted as a dog and though less than ideal, it is a natural behavior. I know it's a shock when your dog first does something violent that you didn't expect from them. I know I had to keep reminding myself that he's a dog, he doesn't play by human rules unless taught to and will probably revert to dog instincts if a situation comes up that he hasn't been taught to deal with.
I'd give Bert a few days for emotions to settle and then get back to your good work. Oh and probably eat large amounts of chocolate for myself!
 
ihatework said:
Your dog, recalled, on your property.
Loose out of control dog on private land.

You have no liability whatsoever and should not be offering to pay for vets. The other dog owner should be dropping off a bottle to you as way of an apology!
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Absolutely this, the other dog shouldn’t have been on your land, the owner was negligent in allowing it to escape-is his property not secure? I’d be massively peed off if this happened to me and it did once with puss cat, dog came racing from the other side of the big park and even though I had mine on the lead and was attempting to hobble away, the dog went under Zak, inevitable that a fight ensued.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
The most important statement you make is that your dog was on a LEAD. End of.
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I do agree with everyone else on this one and suggest OP has nothing to worry about in the circumstances described, but do think it's worth pointing out that being on a lead isn't an absolute defence. Forgive me that I can't find an example at the moment, it might have been from a Trevor Cooper dog law seminar?
 
Thank you all. I think I’m saddest because we don’t even react to passing another dog generally these days I’d almost dared to hope he was now pretty dog proof
Yes there is a footpath. It’s a fair way away. It runs through a bit of the next field and onto the next farm.
It’s not visible from my horses field and there are thick hedges/tree lines between but I can often hear people shouting dogs along it, hence not paying much attention at that point.

The other dog had escaped from his garden about a mile away rather than been allowed off his lead so I’m assuming the owner had just taken the wrong direction in heading for the footpath rather than up the road to us.
The dog wasn’t even slightly listening but did seem quite stressed out. He is probably only about a year old, he’s a sweet boy.
My partner saw him out walking today so clearly his leg is fine which is a huge relief.
 
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